It may come as a surprise to many but hats were a big fashion statement through the centuries. What may come as a bigger surprise is the town of Stockport, south of Manchester was the hat making hub for nearly 4 centuries, exporting their hats to South America, The Carribean and Africa. 

During the early 19th century, there were some thirty milliers in Stockport, though the tradition stems as far back as the late 15th century. At this time, most hats were made using knitted or felted wool and animal fur. The finest quality hats were actually made from rabbit fur. The fur was obtained by native rabbits both feral and domesticated. These days rabbit fur is imported from France and partly made hats are imported from Eastern Europe. 

From the 18th century most hats were made of felted wool with a top layer made of beaver fur. 

Hats were made using a block that could used over and over again. It took a tremendous amount of skill and practice to master the art and craft of block making. Of course when aluminium was introduced wooden block making became practically redundant. Today, only one company in the UK still manufacture hats, Boone & Lane in Luton.